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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Cozy Polka Dots

If you ask me what my favorite pattern was this year, I think I'd have to say it was Victory Pattern's Lola. Which probably says a lot about my lifestyle right now, because it's such a perfectly comfy, slightly sporty and casual but still kinda feminine sweater dress. And yes, this is the fifth version I have made this year. Except for the Star Trek Lola (which, after all, is a costume), all of them have been worn very frequently. You could say this one rounds out the year nicely, because I made a Coral Lola for spring, a striped, short-sleeved Lola for summer and a lacy, long-sleeved one for autumn. Now I've made a fleece version for the depth of winter. And boy, is it cozy.

The facts:

Pattern:Lola by Victory Patterns, Size 8Fabric: 2m of polka dot fleece fabric, from the stoffe.de website, plus some ribbed black fabric for the neckline, sleeve and hem bands, bought at the Maybachufer fabric market.Notions: noneTime to complete: a couple of hours, tops.Techniques used: Most of the construction was done on my overlocker, apart from attaching the sleeve cuffs, basting the pockets to the main skirt and turning under the rim of the pocket, which were done on my regular machine.Alterations: I lengthened the sleeves to full length.First worn: Actually not much except for the photos, since we haven't had freezing temperatures yet.

The only issue I have with it is that I neglected to widen the sleeves a bit. The fleece has some give, but it's not really stretchy and while my arms do fit into the sleeves, they are pretty tight. Not tight enough to restrict, actually, but since the fleece is so warm, my arms get quite hot. I've been thinking about inserting a small strip of fabric into the sleeve seam, just a couple of centimeters wide. Even if it's noticable, this is mostly a lounge dress anyway - so who cares, right?

Oh, that looks so cozy! Lola is such a great pattern, and it certainly suits you. I just made a Lola out of double-knit as a test run, and while the dress fits okay elsewhere the arms were SO small. I think I'm going to have to just cut them off and just go sleeveless!

About Me

Sewing with a passion when not stuck with my nose in a book or navigating real life as a doctor. The beautiful things in life: friends & family, cooking & eating, coffee & philosophy, painting & photography, theater & music, singing, travels...